1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for wireless communication, and, more particularly, to a method for wireless communication with increased security and robustness within a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known for wireless communication to be employed between and within various systems within a vehicle, such as an automobile. Wireless intra-vehicular networks involve transmitting sensor data to central nodes and commanding data from a controlling node to the actuators over the wireless channel.
A problem with such wireless systems is that they are subject to malicious wireless attacks from parties disposed outside the vehicle. Such wireless intra-vehicular networks pose serious security challenges if not designed properly, as in the worst case the system can be hacked and hence be controlled wirelessly from a distance. A malicious attack may result in signals being sent to a seat actuator to cause a seat to move, or to a rearview mirror actuator to cause a rearview mirror to move, for example. Such sudden movements of a seat or a mirror could contribute to the driver losing control of the vehicle or becoming unaware of his surroundings. Either of these scenarios could result in the vehicle being involved in a collision. As an example, when a vehicle is traveling at high speed and the driver's seat suddenly moves forward/backward it can catch the driver off guard.
In addition to actuation signals being maliciously counterfeited or manipulated, data used or produced by sensors or actuators can be maliciously counterfeited or manipulated for active attacks. Such corrupted data may also cause electronics or actuators to operate unpredictably.
Another problem with such wireless systems is that faults or abnormalities that occur within the individual nodes may be difficult to detect and neutralize. For example, it may be difficult to determine whether a signal from a node is legitimate or due to a malfunction of the nodes. Even if it is recognized that a signal is being sent from a malfunctioning node, it may still be difficult to identify which node the signal is being transmitted from, or whether the signal is being sent from an external node that is outside of the wireless system.
It is known for encryption and authentication algorithms to be employed in increasing the security of a system. However, a tradeoff exists due to the complexity in implementing the security scheme. That is, some schemes are computationally intensive and hence can increase the message latency, which may be undesirable for many applications. Some schemes can be implemented in hardware, which results in additional components and hence additional cost and space requirements. For these reasons, the choice of security scheme may be application dependent. Similarly, there are several techniques developed for intrusion detection that enable the nodes to detect when the system has been compromised and hence can detect a security threat.
What is neither disclosed nor suggested in the art is a system and method for wireless network communication that is capable of thwarting malicious wireless attacks as well as detecting abnormalities occurring due to faulty nodes or faulty channels. More generally, what is neither disclosed nor suggested in the art is a system and method for wireless network communication that achieves a level of safety and security that is appropriate for vehicular applications.